


Person of Interest

by AstricaOnome



Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2012), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Amnesia, Crime Fighting, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, I'm making it an AU anyway, Memory Loss, Mutation, Ninja, Sort of..., This could possibly happen in the series..., Weapons
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-23
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:00:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28252038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AstricaOnome/pseuds/AstricaOnome
Summary: After Splinter suffers a brutal defeat at the hands of Shredder, the villain attempts to serve his enemy a fate worse than death.
Kudos: 4





	Person of Interest

**Author's Note:**

> A few quick notes:
> 
> This is a story I published on Fanfiction.net several years ago. This is the same tale with a few minor changes to improve flow. (I've taken too many writing classes just to leave this unedited at this point).
> 
> Also, despite the title, this story has no relation to the show "Person of Interest." I wrote this long before watching that show and apologize if you were looking for a crazy TMNT/Person of Interest Crossover. I just sucked at titles when I was younger and couldn't think of a better one. (P.S. Sameen Shaw all the way. WOOT).
> 
> Please enjoy!

The plan had been perfectly executed.

Nothing was supposed to go wrong, but in the end it did. We had been defeated, tossed to the side like a bunch of rag dolls while the Foot surrounded Master Splinter. We watched him fight his arch enemy, the Shredder, and in the end, we watched him lose.

I’ll never know why the Shredder didn’t kill Splinter right then and there. All I know is that I felt fear well up inside me as the villain stepped towards us, and though I couldn’t see his face, I could picture his malicious smile through the tone of his voice.

“There is more than one way to kill a rat.” He sneered, before yanking down the lever beside him.

I heard the others scream, and felt a strange, cold substance land on my shell, before my whole world gave way to blackness. 

~{<>}~

Across the wide expanse known as New York City, four teens lied asleep. They had no way of knowing that they weren’t supposed to be there, as the memories implanted by the scientists made sure of that. Their “parents” had been coached on exactly how to raise their new kids, and they knew that if they failed their mission, their own lives would be forfeit.

A loud cry issued from the first house, and soon three more followed. The four pairs of parents entered the rooms as if they were surprised, but in reality, they weren’t. The master had told them that this would happen. They watched as the four children grappled with imaginary foes, and flinched every time they cried out. Then, without even a care, they finally left and resumed a quiet, peaceful sleep.

If the parent’s had stayed just a little longer, they would have witnessed the appearance of a small, shadowed figure in the windows. One by one, he visited the children, and left them a means to find the others. As he entered the last house, the figure frowned. He watched him toss and turn in bed, mumbling in his sleep.

“Raph… Don… Mikey… Don’t leave me… Please!” He heard the distraught child mutter, making the figure sigh. 

“Do not worry, Leonardo.” He whispered, touching a withered hand to the teen’s forehead. “In time, you will all reunite, and we will be a family once again. This I promise.” He heard the child’s breathing slow, and smiled, before laying his parcel down and slipping into the cold, dark night.

~{<>}~

The last few days had been utter chaos, and Adam doubted whether or not he could take it anymore. His parents were driving him up the wall. They didn’t trust him to abide by their household’s “no technology” policy, which he hadn’t disobeyed in the last 16 years! What makes them think he would break it now? He sighed as he walked into a restroom, and immediately began fixing his hair as soon as he reached a mirror. 

“My goodness,” he thought to himself. “I look as bad as that gangster, Mark Kaiser!” Another person walked in just as Adam was applying the finishing touches, straightening his glasses and tying his long, brown hair back in a ponytail.

“Hello, Adam.” A voice called out politely behind him. Adam turned around to reply, only to come face to face with Charles May, the son of one of the richer families in New York.

“Hi Charlie.” He said simply, before leaving. He’d tried to become friends with the young, rich teen before, but it just never seemed to work out. As he was walking down the hallway, he felt suddenly drawn to a large, colorful flyer on the schools bulletin board. 

“Sensei’s Palace Ninjutsu Academy.” he read. “Hmmm.” Without a second thought, Adam grabbed one of the slips from the bottom of the flyer, before going on his way with a smile on his face.

~{<>}~

Charlie sighed as he watched Adam leave. There went one of his only at having a decent conversation! He craved those moments often, as he wasn’t allowed to be what he considered “normal”. Charlie was forced to be as polite and courteous as he could be wherever he went. He just wished that he could be himself for once.

He got ready to leave the restroom, but stopped when he saw Adam by the bulletin board. Charlie watched as the young teen pulled a slip off of a flyer, before moving along. He followed, grabbing one of the slips himself.

“This little game isn’t over just yet!” He thought excitedly.

~{<>}~

A tall, shadowy teen lied back against a brick wall, tossing a bright blue stress ball up and down in his hand. He hadn’t wanted to skip school today, but his parents had insisted. He was supposed to wait for a member of his family to arrive and discuss a possible business opportunity. 

He hated these assignments. They just seemed at a sort of odds with his personal morals. He didn’t quite know exactly what those were, however. He wished that he hadn’t been born into a family of thugs. Maybe then things would have ended up differently.

He watched as Adam Savant, and then Charles May, tore across the lawn, away from the school and obviously in the same direction. It wasn’t strange that he knew who everyone was at this school. After all, that was his first assignment when he was in kindergarten. His eyes widened in surprise though when he saw Thomas Cossack, the sophomore classes’ vice president, following closely behind the other two boys. 

“Now, where are they all going this early in the afternoon?” he thought to himself. He noticed a piece of paper fall out of Tommy’s pocket, and when the whole group was far enough away, he rushed over and picked it up.

“Ninjitsu?” he asked aloud. “What are those three goofballs going to do at a ninjitsu academy?” He glanced behind him, and idea coming to mind, before smiling to himself.

“I guess I should go and check this out myself.” He said, before sprinting off after the three teen boys.

~{<>}~

“Mom’s gonna kill me.” Tommy sighed as he tailed Adam and Charlie. He’d started following them on a whim, seeing as Adam and Charlie had never gone down this road before, much less together. He stopped to catch his breath, running a hand through his spiky red hair before reaching to his back pocket. He gasped when his fingers didn’t find one of the slips of paper that he had seen Charlie grab.

“I’ll just have to go on without it.” he said, sighing once again and continuing on his mission, unaware that he was being followed as well.

~{<>}~

The figure in the shadows watched the four sophomores intently, smiling to himself as he did so.

“At last,” he whispered. “Let the games begin.” Then, without so much as a sound, he disappeared into the forest.

~{<>}~

Adam entered the dojo wide-eyed, taking in his surroundings. He walked up to one of the weapons cases, hands rising to a position just an inch away from a pair of sai.

“These are just like…” he whispered, only to be interrupted by the sound of a door crashing open. He whipped around, only to be face to face with Charlie May once again. Charlie laughed nervously.

“Hi Adam,” he said. “This is kind of ironic, isn’t it?” A few minutes later, Tommy and Mark rushed into the room, arguing as usual.

“What are ya doing here, Mark?” Tommy shouted. “Why were you following me?”

“Why were you following them?” accused Mark, pointing at Adam and Charlie.

“Silence!” called a voice from another room. The four teens turned to see a hooded man in a red kimono. Though they couldn’t see his face, they could feel the authority that laced his voice.

“If you are going to be my students, you must learn to get along.” he instructed. “That is why for our first session, we will be taking a little field trip.”

~{<>}~

The art museum was crowded, forcing the group of students to disband as soon as they got inside. This didn’t surprise the sensei, however; as it was all according to plan.

Mark was amazed by all of the artwork that surrounded him. He’d never told anyone, but Mark had always harbored a passion for the Japanese culture. It reminded him of the six-foot-long bo staff that he kept in his room. He had tried to train with it once, but the weapon just didn’t seem to suit him.

Suddenly alarms sounded, knocking Mark out of his thoughts and sending the museum into chaos. Mark looked frantically around himself, trying to find the source of the commotion. He watched as a group of men dressed completely in black surrounded one of the display cases, busting it in with with a bat and sending glass flying. One man stepped away from the rest, and ordered everyone to get down. As Mark lied against the pavement, he felt an extreme sense of calmness fall over him, and in that instant he knew what he had to do.

He made his getaway as soon as the thug guarding the pedestrians turned his back. As he turned the corner, out of sight from the criminals, he saw three figures crouched in the shadows. Tommy, Adam, and Charlie turned to face him, their eyes glowing pure white just like his. They were awaiting orders from him, just like Mark knew they would be. He was their leader, after all.

“Arm yourselves as quickly as possible. Then take them down.” he commanded. The other three nodded, quickly and quietly assuming their positions.

~{<>}~

The museum was virtually quiet except for the jangle of artifacts being forced into sacks. Suddenly a sharp whirring was heard, and one of the crooks dropped his bag, grabbing his hand in pain and spilling weaponry across the floor. The thief looked down to see a shuriken embedded in the wall behind him.

“What the heck?” The thief searched his surroundings frantically. “Whoever did this, show yourself this instant!” A figure dropped down from the ceiling. In one quick motion, he grabbed a staff from the ground and knocked in cleanly over the crook’s head. More criminals surrounded him, but the staff-wielder was soon joined by two more fighters. One used a pair of sai while the other carried nunchucks. Their leader watched from his place in the balcony, frowning slightly to himself. He had seen this all somewhere before. He was sure of it. But his memories seemed to be blocked by some sort of invisible barrier; one that he couldn’t break through no matter how hard he tried.

All sound below him ceased, and Mark looked down to see Tommy, Adam, and Charlie surrounded by the motionless bodies of the bandits. He saw that their spirits were slowly diminishing, so in a flash Mark jumped down and ushered his team outside. As they collapsed on the grass, Mark glanced upward to see the sensei from the dojo, only this time his hood was pulled back to reveal his face. Mark felt his mental barrier break for just an instant, and he used the last of his strength to smile weakly.

“It’s good to see you again, sensei.” he said. “I hope we did you proud.” Then Mark drifted off into a dreamless sleep. The sensei simply nodded.

“It’s good to have you back, my sons, even if only for a little while.”

~{<>}~

Memories had been trickling into Mark’s head ever since he had awoken on the grass outside of the art museum. They had started out small and simple, but had grown more complex as days past. Just last night, he had dreamt that he was somewhere else. The place smelled of mold and mildew, but somehow it felt like… home. He, along with some others, were sitting around a stone table. Though he couldn’t see his companion’s faces, he felt very close with each of them. Suddenly, the one in the kitchen presented what looked like a large green cake and placed it on the table in front of them.

“Happy Mutation Day!”

Mark had woken up in his bed sweating that morning. Everything felt wrong. His clothes, his body, his room, and even his name were too different. In the next instant it felt right again. Mark grasped his head and sighed. He glanced sideways, catching sight of his bo staff lying in a corner. He smiled sadly.

“It’s time to return this to its original owner.”

~{<>}~

School that day seemed to go by slowly. As soon as the bell rang for lunch, Mark leapt from his seat and rushed towards the door. Luckily, he found Adam fairly quickly.

“Meet me behind the school tonight.” he whispered as he walked past. Then, as an afterthought, he turned back around. 

“And bring your weapon with you.”

Mark saw Adam slightly nod in what he guessed was a sign of recognition, before he turned to walk away. Afterwards, Mark repeated the process with the other two and got relatively the same results. Now all he had to do was wait.

~{<>}~

“Alright Mark,” complained Tommy. “What’s this all about?”

“Yeah, and how did you know that we would have these?” questioned Charlie, holding up a pair of blue-handled katanas. 

“I can explain.” Mark said. “First of all, have any of you experienced anything strange lately?”

“Well, there is the fact that we all have what looks like ancient Japanese weaponry.” listed Adam. “And I have been experiencing weird sensations of deja vu whenever we go to that dojo.”

“Me too!” exclaimed Charlie. “What about you, Tommy?”

“Yep, same here.” he replied. “And I’ll bet that Mark has too.”

“Exactly. We all have been going through the same trials and situations lately, so I believe we must be somehow connected. And I think these weapons may have something to do with it.” Mark turned to Adam, and in one fluid motion, he thrusted out his bo staff in front of him.

“I believe that this may be yours.” He said with a smile on his face. Adam looked at Mark with disbelief before grabbing the staff, swinging it over his head in a circle so fast that the others could barely see it. When he brought it down finally, Adam had a wide grin plastered on his face.

“That was... exhilarating.”

“Oh yeah, now it’s my turn.” shouted Charlie. He ran over and ripped the pair of nunchucks out of Tommy’s hands, swinging them hard enough to damage anything that they hit.

“Booyakasha!”

“Why can’t that idiot just shut up?” growled Tommy as he picked up the pair of sai from the ground, unconsciously slipping them into his belt. He turned to face Mark. “Right, Leo?”

Mark froze, his eyes widening.

“What did you just call me?” he asked Tommy persistently. Tommy looked back at him, confused.

“What are you even talking about?”

“Oh, nevermind.”

~{<>}~

Leo, Raph, Donnie, and Mikey.

Those names had been going through Mark’s head ever since the meeting last night. These weren’t just ordinary names, he knew. These were _their_ names.

He was Leonardo.

He’d had to keep himself from slipping up in school. That had happened once already, when he accidentally called Adam “Donnie” in gym class. Adam had just looked at him funny and continued on his way. When he had called Tommy “Raph”, he had been sneered at and punched roughly on the shoulder. Charlie just seemed to accept his as a new nickname, which Mark had expected to happen. Charlie was Mikey, after all.

~{<>}~

That night, Mark travelled home, smiling to himself. They were slowly getting better every time they trained, though Mark knew that they had been through it all before. Suddenly, the door to his house swung open, and Mrs. Kaiser came barging out.

“Mark Henry Kaiser, where have you been?” she shrieked. “We were supposed to meet with the rest of the family after lunch.

“I’m done with the charade, _Mother.”_ Mark said, his voice dripping with malice. “You can’t control my life anymore. I refuse to do immoral, horrid things just because you ask me to.” He turned to go up the stairs, before looking back behind him.

“And, by the way, my name is Leo.”

Once Mark had disappeared, Mrs. Kaiser whipped out her phone.

“He knows,” she hissed into it. “He knows and he’s going to leave us!”

“Don’t worry about a thing, Mrs. Kaiser.” came the voice on the other end. “I promise you that I will get things back under control.”

~{<>}~

The new kids were getting on Adam’s nerves. It had started this morning when the three new students got introduced to the class. The first was a young, shy girl named Kierra Stockman. She had walked in without even trying to introduce herself and sat down at a table with him. Though she was very quiet, Adam could sense a kindred intellectual spirit in his new table-mate.

As the second student entered, he seemed to glare at the class. He was introduced as Nicholas Rahzar. No one bothered to learn more about him, as the boy’s cold and cynical aura made sure of that. He made his way to the back of the room, finally taking a seat by Charlie.

The last person to appear was a tall, dark-haired boy who introduced himself as Wallace Xever. He grinned wickedly before sitting down by Tommy.

Adam now watched them as they worked. Something seemed oddly familiar about those three, but he couldn’t quite place it. He decided to talk with the others about it at training that afternoon. Surely they had to know something.

~{<>}~

It was finally time for Adam’s favorite class of the day, Science. He loved all of the equations and formulas. He had a feeling Kiera did as well, since she had dived straight into their chemistry experiment. She stood next to him, just out of arm’s reach, messing with a beaker. The next few seconds went by in a blur, but Adam knew he had seen the beaker fly into the air before everything went black. In the next instant, he found himself standing on the lab table, wielding a broomstick, with Kierra’s beaker balanced carefully on the end. Kiera just smiled at him.

“Thank you very much, _Adam._ ”

~{<>}~

“Tommy and Wallace, enter the ring!” called the P.E. coach. Tommy smiled, lightly popping his knuckles on each hand. Finally, this was the fight he had been waiting for. He already knew that he could beat the rest of his gym class, and this new guy looked like fresh competition.

Their classmates all watched as the two challengers circled each other, squaring their shoulders and sizing up the competition. Suddenly, Wallace rushed at him, trying to gain an advantage. Tommy knew this was coming though, and cleanly sidestepped, causing Wallace to barrel into the ropes.

“You’ll pay for that!” Wallace hissed, but Tommy could barely hear him. He had already slipped into what he called, “battle mode”, and was preparing for his opponent’s next strike. As Wallace attempted to charge him again, he slipped under him, grabbing his opponent’s arm and flipping him onto the floor. Tommy stood up, dusted himself off, and smiled at the captivated crowd.

“Now, who’s next!” As he accepted congratulations, Tommy didn’t notice Wallace’s smile, nor the wicked gleam in his eyes.

~{<>}~

The three new student’s met up outside, each with their own story to tell.

“It’s really them!” cried Kiera. “We’re right under our worst enemies’ noses, and they don’t even recognise us!” Wallace smirked at her.

“Of course they don’t recognise you, Stockman.” he teased. “You look like a girl!” Kiera growled at him, before turning to face both of her comrades.

“It’s time to instigate part two of my plan.” she commanded. “Follow me, boys!” And with that, the three students set off into the woods.

~{<>}~

“Sensei!” Adam called. “Are you in there?” He pounded on the door a few more times before turning to face Tommy and Charlie.

“No dice guys. There’s still no answer.” 

“And now Mark is gone too!” cried Charlie. “What are we supposed to do?”

“I’d suggest that you come along quietly so no one gets hurt.” Came a voice from the shadows. The three teens whipped around, only to come face to face with the three new classmates they had met that morning.

“Your sensei’s not coming back anytime soon.” hissed Nicholas. “And neither is your friend, Mark.”

“What have you done to them, you freaks!” yelled Tommy. His sai were wielded in front of him, and his anger looked ready to burst forth at any moment.

“Freaks?” replied Kiera with a smirk on her face. “How ironic of you to call us that.” With a knowing look, she pressed a finger to the underside of her chin. Kierra’s figure blurred, revealing a creature with a fly-shaped head and wings. Wallace and Nicholas did the same, becoming a large fish with metallic legs and a grey dog with fierce, sharp teeth.

“Now, seize them!”

~{<>}~

The mutants ran at the teens attempting to surround them, but they were ready. Adam leapt back, landing deftly in front of Kiera with his bo in front of him and his eyes glowing white.

“Tell me where Leo is and no one get’s hurt, _Kierra._ ” he demanded.

“Never!” she buzzed, though her voice was much lower than before. “And my name is Baxter Stockman!”

“What, she’s a dude?” called Charlie. “That’s disgusting!” He was locked in combat with Rahzar.

“Never mind that, Charlie!” Tommy yelled. “Focus on the enemy!”

“Got it!”

Adam turned his attention back to the threat in front of him. Stockman flitted around quickly, trying to catch him off his guard. The minute he saw an opening, Adam unveiled his naginata blade and struck. Stockman suddenly found one of his wings attached to a tree, forcing him to stay in place. Adam put his hands on both sides of Stockman’s head and frowned.

“Now, tell me where Mark is, or I’ll let Tommy deal with you.” Tommy, who had just finished knocking out Fish Face, turned to Stackman and smiled wickedly. The mutant gulped.

“Okay, I’ll talk.”

~{<>}~

**_The Inventor_ **

“Alright guys,” commanded Tommy. “Here’s the plan.”

“Since when are you the leader?” Adam questioned.

“Mark isn’t here, so that job falls to me!” Tommy hissed. “You got that, brainiac?” Adam stepped back and watched as Tommy laid out his plan on the ground before them. He examined it and frowned. 

“There’s too much protection around those walls. Someone’s going to have to take them out before we even have a chance of getting in there.” Tommy looked up at him with a smile.

“Charlie and I can take out the guards with no problem. The tech is all up to you.”

“Me!” Adam cried. “I’ve never worked with technology in my life! How can you expect me to be able to disarm a security system?” Tommy didn’t reply, walking away swiftly with Charlie on his tail. Adam sighed in exasperation, and then followed.

~{<>}~

The enemy’s fortress stood tall and proud in front of them. Adam could feel himself cringe at the sight of all the security based around it. He was going to have to disarm that? 

“Go ahead and work your magic.” called Tommy, breaking Adam out of his thoughts. He and Charlie had already taken out the guards. Adam looked at the closed hatch and gulped. But as soon as he touched the first wire, a wave of recognition swept over him, sending his mind back into what he guessed was the past.

But it was not like anything he had ever seen before.

~{<>}~

He was supposed to have been asleep, but that is not what the great inventor, Donatello Hamato, had wanted to do at that point. He was working on another of his many inventions, one that was sure to make both him and his brothers extremely happy. The door behind him creaked open. Donnie turned to see his oldest brother, Leonardo, standing in the doorway. He smiled weakly.

“Hey Leo, I thought you’d be asleep by now.” His brother looked back at him sternly.

“Don, you need to get some rest. It’s like three in the morning.” Donnie looked back at his project and sighed.

“Yes, Leo.” With that, he got up from his desk and followed his brother out of the lab.

~{<>}~

Weapons… Fighting… Blood… Brothers… They may not have been human, but they were so much more. Leo was their leader, Raphie was their fighter, Mikey was their heart, while he, Donnie, was their resident genius. He really had worked with machines since he could manipulate parts with his three green fingers. He didn’t know what had happened to them, or why they had been transformed in this way at all. All he knew was that it was his duty to break into the compound and save his eldest brother and their father.

**_The Fighter_ **

Tommy watched as Adam worked on the control panel, his hands flying to the tools at his side every once in a while. He smiled to himself. Tommy had known that Adam would be able to diffuse the control panel. After all, Adam was his smartest brother.

It was all a matter of remembering. Memories had been flooding Tommy’s brain for the last couple of hours. For a while, he hadn’t even known what to think. How could the four of them, different in so many ways, actually be brothers? The more he looked into it, the more Tommy realized that this fact was definitely true. They were one big, dysfunctional family. 

Mark was definitely the oldest, and Tommy could tell that him and “Fearless”, as he called him, never got along very well. Next was him, while the third oldest was his genius brother, now called Adam. Charlie was the youngest, with a crazy fun-loving attitude to prove it.

He had to credit Mark with helping him figure all of this out. The week before he had disappeared, Mark had been acting really strange. He kept slipping up when he talked to them, and seemed to smile a lot more. Mark could never get himself to call them by what they considered their names, and after a while Tommy saw why.

The lives they were leading weren’t their real lives at all.

He was not supposed to be Tommy Cossack. Instead, he was supposed to be Raphael Hamato, and apparently he was actually a large mutant turtle that knows ninjutsu. Weird, right?

He had other things to do at that moment than reminisce. Without a second thought, Tommy ran into their enemy’s stronghold, taking out foot left and right. It was time to get his brother back.

**_The Heart_ **

Charlie hadn’t known what to expect when Adam finally broke through the security system. His mind had wandered back into his memories and revealed all that had been hidden from him. It was all so intense, yet exciting. His brothers and him were like superheroes, hiding their secret identities and fighting crime all the while.

He knew that his spirit was what had kept the team going for so many years and that if he let up now, they all just might fall apart. So, Charlie kept a smile on his face as he, Tommy, and Adam entered the inner sanctum of their enemy’s fortress.

**_The Leader_ **

Mark felt broken. His sensei had been kidnapped and taken before his eyes, and he had watched as his friends… no, his brothers, had become the targets of three of the Shredder’s most fearsome assassins. He had basically given up hope.

That is, until a loud crashing emanated from outside the room he was being detained in. The door crashed inward and, when the dust cleared, in rushed his brothers. Adam immediately set to work on the electronic lock, muttering quietly under his breath. Tommy and Charlie stood on guard at the door. As soon as the lock was picked, Adam ran inside and wrapped Mark in a tight hug.

“Leo, don’t ever abandon us again!” he cried. Mark smiled as Charlie and Tommy came over as well. They knew, they all knew!

“What a touching family reunion.” came a voice from behind them. The four brothers turned, and found themselves staring into the eyes of an enemy they had been fighting for ages. 

The Shredder.

~{<>}~

The silver of his armor gleamed in the light, casting a glow on the mortified faces of the four teens. Tommy stood quickly, his eyes filled with anger.

“Why would you do this to us?” he cried. “Why didn’t you just go ahead and finish us off?” The Shredder laughed.

“That would have been too easy.” he sneered. “I wanted to see Hamato Yoshi suffer, seeing you face your trials with no chance of ever being your father again.” Then the Shredder scowled. 

“But you had to go find him and force my hand.” He motioned to the door behind him, revealing Fishface and Rahzar carrying a figure in a red kimono. Mark stared on sadly while the others gaped.

“Master Splinter?” Charlie whispered. The old, beaten rat looked up.

“My sons… please… save yourselves.” His voice was barely above a whisper, and died out as his body went limp once again. The teens turned to the Shredder, a new determination filling them.

“You’ll pay for this, Shredder!” challenged Mark.

“You’re in no position to talk, Leonardo.” chided the Shredder as he appeared behind Mark, forcefully kicking him to the ground. Tommy growled at him, before rushing the Shredder head on.

“Don’t mess with my brother, you creep!” he shouted. Shredder snickered maliciously before taking out Tommy with one blow. The battle raged on, each of the teens fighting like their lives depended on it. But it was no use. The Shredder blocked their every attack, and slowly the outcome of the battle was looking grave. The teens now lied broken and beaten on the floor of the Shredder’s hideout.

“Leo…” Adam croaked, inching over to his brother. “We can’t fight him like this. Our bodies just aren’t strong enough.” Mark nodded slowly, before pointing behind him at the open doorway. In a flash of purple smoke, the teenagers were gone.

~{<>}~

They met up in one of the air ducts, out of breath and barely able to speak.

“Something has to change.” Mark muttered. Suddenly, a hard coughing emanated from the grate next to them. The brothers ran to the source of the sound, finding their sensei hunched over and clutching something in his paw. He smiled weakly when he saw them.

“I thought I told you to go home.” he scolded teasingly.

“We would never leave you behind, Sensei.” assured Mark. “We promise.” Splinter sighed before holding out his hands. In them were multi-colored masks. Mark picked up the blue one and smiled sadly.

“Sensei,” he asked. “Where did you get these?”

“The Shredder had them this entire time.” Splinter answered. “They are the remedy for what ails you, my sons.”

“You mean these will turn us back into turtles?” questioned Adam, holding up his purple mask. “But how?”

“No time for questions!” snapped Splinter. “You four have a choice to make. Refuse to turn back and you keep your humanity, but the Shredder runs free. Put the masks on, and you will return to the lives you once had.”

The teenagers looked at each other, question in each of their eyes.

“The chance to be normal for once.” whispered Adam. “Guys, this will probably never happen to us again.”

“But if we stay human, we won’t be brothers anymore.” cried Charlie. “I can’t take that, I would miss you all so much!” Mark smiled.

“Then I think we know exactly what to do.”

~{<>}~

The Shredder sat on his metal throne, eyes alert. His enemies had to be around here somewhere. When he found them, he would destroy them once and for all. Suddenly, a flash of green caught his eye, followed by another and another.

“No! It’s not possible!” he yelled. But it was already too late. The Shredder was now surrounded by four masked mutant turtles with a katana being held to his throat.

“Your time is up, Shredder.”

~{<>}~

With the Shredder captured, the strange mutant family was able to return back to their own lives. One night, as Mikey was watching TV, he saw something strange appear on the screen. He called to the others. They ran into the room, only to stop upon seeing the TV. The local news was blaring loudly at them.

“There have still been no updates regarding the disappearance of the four high school boys. Their names are Mark Kaiser, Thomas Cossack, Adam Savant, and Charles May. If you have any information regarding these teens, please call the number on the screen.” Leo laughed.

“They have no idea, do they?”

“Nope.” answered Donnie. “And hopefully they never will, as long as we stick together.”

It was good to be home at last.


End file.
